STORIES

On the morning of July 17th the Adventure Club set out on its annual advanced backpacking trip. Ikayrah, Jovon and Legacy accompanied by Mr. Best, Ms. Gordon, Ms. Hannigriff, Mr. Smith and Lindsay (our Appalachian Mountain Club guide). We departed from the school's parking lot leaving behind the bright lights and noise of the city for our secluded destination.

After a two hour ride, we arrived in Alexandria, New Hampshire at the base of Mount Cardigan. After unloading our gear we walked to our campsite and setup our tents.

Once we were all settled into our site, we strapped on our packs and hiked out to Welton falls. After an hour hike through the deep forest and over streams we reached the beauteous water fall.

On Friday we awoke with the sunrise to prepare for our hike up Mount Cardigan; there's no sleeping in when you venture to the top of the world. After cleaning our campsite we filled our packs with all the food and supplies we would need for the next 24 hours. We started out on the Manning Trail from our campsite until we reached the Holt trail which took us over bridges and wound us slowly up the side of the mountain. We followed the Holt Trail until we reached the Cathedral Forest Trail that opened up to breathtaking views of the forest. After finishing the Cathedral Forest Trail we were connected to the Clark Trail. At this point we had hiked for nearly three hours and we kept pushing up the mountain until we reached JP Ledge, about 2/3 of the way up the mountain. A perfect stopping point for lunch. We ate here taking in the picturesque landscape that looked like it was pulled from a postcard.

After Lunch we continued our journey above the tree line until we reached the summit of Mount Cardigan. The summit opened up to reveal the true beauty of the outdoors. As we gazed upon the view, we saw sprawling forests as far as the eye could see and lakes that looked the size of puddles. Once we reached the top of Mount Cardigan, our cheers echoed through the countryside as we stood amongst the clouds.

We remained at the summit of the mountain for about an hour before descending down the high cabin, located about 3/4 of the way up the mountain. At the cabin, we prepared our spaghetti and meatballs dinner and played card games into the evening. All night the cabin was filled with the children's(and teachers) laughter as we bonded over our experiences over the past two days.

The next morning we left the high cabin and hiked to the base of Mount Cardigan, loaded up our van and drove to the Audubon Center. Here we went canoeing; learning different technical strokes and how to perform canoe rescues on the water. A perfect way to end our trip. Students and teachers alike returned to Cambridge tired from our eventful trip and with many memories that will last a lifetime.